Disney World’s phased reopening plan is centered around managing attendance levels with a new reservation system called Disney Park Pass. All guests are now required to have both a park ticket and reservation to visit.
Disney World’s Park Pass reservation system originally went live on June 22nd, but only guests with valid theme park admission AND a hotel booking were allowed to access it — until now.
The booking window for Annual Passholders (who didn’t previously have a hotel reservation) is now open and Passholders are allowed to reserve their theme park passes. Just like the general public, Disney World’s APs must make a reservation for EACH day of entry and may only visit one theme park per day (no park hopping).
The system opened up pretty early this morning. We were able to make new reservations for Annual Passholders before 7AM ET!
Click here to see how many days Annual Passholders can reserve at one time!
While some days had originally “booked up” at certain parks, Disney added more park passes to the formerly “sold-out” dates so that Annual Passholders would have the opportunity to snag them. On the other hand, the first two days of reopening — July 11th and 12th — were already showing as unavailable by the time we accessed the site.
Theme park reservations are currently available through September 26, 2021.
Read our Disney World Park Pass System FAQ here!
Despite the fact that several days in the first week of reopening are unavailable for resort guests for Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, we were able to make new park passes this morning for Hollywood Studios on July 15th through 17th — days that are full for resort guests. This means that Disney DID add more available park passes for the new wave of bookings.
As a reminder, Annual Passholders (without resort reservations) are allowed to make THREE days of Disney Park Pass reservations at one time. We double-checked and we WERE cut off at three days.
Update: Some Passholders WITH hotel reservations are noticing they can book right now only the length of their hotel reservation. So it appears Passholders don’t get their resort stay days AND three additional AP days to book.
And even though the system has been a bit glitchy since its launch, Disney Park Pass reservations are subject to availability, so you don’t want to delay if you have any specific dates in mind. Though Disney has not released capacity numbers for the reopened parks — we know that there is a significant limit on attendance.
Note: Once the clock struck 7AM EST (when everyone kind of assumed the system would roll over) we ALREADY started noticing dates “selling out” so act FAST, APs!
If you have any questions about using the new Disney Park Pass System, don’t hesitate to drop us a line! And for you folks who aren’t Annual Passholders or DIDN’T have park tickets AND hotel reservations, your day will soon be here! On June 28th the booking window for existing ticket holders will open, so you only have to sit tight a little while longer!
Click here for answers to five of the BIGGEST questions Annual Passholders have about the new Disney Park Pass System!
Disney Park Reopening Details and Info
Click HERE for the All Latest Updates
Click HERE To See FULL LISTS of the Rides, Attractions, Shopping, Entertainment, and Restaurants Opening in Disney World!
TUTORIAL: How To Use Disney World's NEW Park Pass Reservation System
ALL Disney World Reopening Procedures
Disney World Hotel and Ticket Booking Information
We’re Visiting ALL the Reopened Disney World Hotels and Have All the Need-to-Know Details
We’re LIVE in Disney World's Magic Kingdom For the FIRST Time Since the Closures
We’re LIVE in Disney’s Animal Kingdom For the FIRST Time Since the Closures
We Got a FIRST LOOK at Disney World’s New Character Cavalcades and Entertainment!
Everything You NEED To Know About Wearing Masks in Disney World
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Are you a Disney World Annual Passholder? Let us know if you were able to reserve your Disney Park Passes in the comments below!
Do you know if we had to use this system for July 9th and 10th? The annual passholder previews day?
I logged in at 7 and made my reservations without a problem! Thank you all for the tips, as I was prepared…just in case 🙂
I am an annual passholder and I was unable to make any park reservations for July 21 (a date tat shows all parks available) this morning (tried at 7:30) because it says I have already reached my limit. The only park reservations I have are associated with a resort stay in September. So the system still appears to have glitches… frustrating.
I am an annual pass holder.
So on the 22nd I went ahead and made park reservations for my resort stay in November-4days.
Now of course I can’t make anymore reservations, as the system says our limit has been reached. I was hoping to be able to book 3 single days now. Should I cancel my November reservations? I really want to make sure we get into the parks on the days we planned for our resort stay. Seems to me they should treat resort stay park reservations and “single day” AP park reservations separately! This is frustrating. I’m at work all day so I can’t call Disney and be on hold for hours.
I have a 7 day Resort Stay booked for Oct, I’m an Annual Passholder Platinum Plus. Today I tried to book 3 days in Feb, 2021, because I thought AP can book 3 days at a time? It’s not allowing me to book it , I assume because of my 7 Days in Oct, 2020. What’s the point of the 3 days for AP if they don’t let you utilize it? This doesn’t make any sense!
Craig, we are still trying to nail down what’s happening. Some folks are reporting being able to book three in addition to their reservations, but our team members seem not to have been able to do it either.
Sara, I agree it’s frustrating. We can’t nail down a consistent “rule” here. We’ll keep updating.
Crystal, DIsney says that info is coming via email — it is NOT included in today’s reservations.
It just dawned on me. I do not comprehend the 3 day limit. I want to share something though, it took 4 days for my reservations to arrive in MDE. I kept getting that “not so fast” page in the reservation system. But yesterday, i was checking MDE to make sure I didn’t delete a Day with a reservation, but choose the correct one s without, Each day had my reservations that I thought did not go through. So check MDE before trying to add.
I have an AP & 4 resort reservations. Two separate trips. I was able to make 18 days of reservations. I don’t understand the limitations of being an AP holder without a resort stay. How frequently can they make 3 days of reservations? Because as I see it, WDW would really need to extend an AP for years. A hold AP for DVC / FL has approximately 330 of possible use. So they’ve been closed for 4 months & now we can only make 3 additional days of reservations? AND no park hopping? Big scam to me.
Also, I didn’t notice, but will we be able to leave & re-enter a park?
Thanks for any answers you provide.
I have an AP that was scheduled to expire 11/20, but should have been extended by the number of closure days. It still says 11/20 as the expiration date so cannot book in late Nov/Dec.
Phone lines are all busy. Not complaining (yet), but wanted to let everyone know our experience so far.
Thanks, Geoff. Members of our team have also noted that the extension is not in the system, and it does seem to be impeding folks from accessing DPP. Hopefully they can fix that for you.
Jackie, we’ve been told YES to leaving and returning to a Park. As for the AP situation: we are hearing so many inconsistent things, it’s really hard for me to know what to tell you all. It sounds like APs with Resort reservations are generally able to get many days of DPP — we’re even hearing/seeing up to three weeks worth of DPP with a Resort reservation. So your 18 days sounds right. We don’t really know for sure what’s going on with the three non-Resort DPP yet. That’s something we’re still actively gathering information on. We will keep updating as we learn more.
It’s 11:18am in 6/26 and I have APs and a DVC stay for 7/18-21. Was able to book those dates, after 2 hours of waiting the other morning from 7-9am…anyways…we do NOT have a resort stay booked, yet, for the end of August but I was able to book 3 park reservations just now for then. So, booked for July DVC stay AND 3 AP days end of August……..As long as we’re able to go……….we live in CT…sigh.
I am an AP holder with a not yet activated AP. Also a DVC member with 2021 reservations at SS. Rescheduled my whole 2020 trip to 1/2021. I was able to reserve all 19 days of park passes for this trip. Will try next for my 52 days at FW in June/July/Aug in summer of 2021.
I have a dvc resort room for 5 days… but park tickets for 3… when will I be able to add another day or two?
Jerry
Thank you DFB Sarah for helping us out with answers. Same boat for me. Family of 5 all Platinum Plus AP here and I’ve got my resort reservations and DPP for next spring but I can only book 1 DPP for the holidays before I get the “whoa something’s wrong” message. Very frustrating!
Today was able to reserve 3 days with AP but can’t include my mom with 7 day pass hopper. Will I be able to re link her ticket with mine once we get to put her days in?Guess we’ll have to wait until Sunday. What a hard time for an already scheduled 10 day trip. Not crying yet. Thanks
Has there been any information about if the different tiers of AP’s are going to get different perks? As of right now, my family is paying more for our Platinum Passes and we have the same ‘pass availability’ as those with cheaper AP’s. Seems like I’m wasting money for no extra benefits now.
Just did a reservation. (Aug 19 at AK.) Took about a minute. Did not see any of the color coding you’ve pictured above.
when I tried to make park reservations for our 4 night stay in December I got the “reached your Limit of three” message; called and was told this was an issue for a lot of AP holders with stay and gave me a different number to call, called, waited, disconnected, etc.. IT must have fixed that issue because at 10:54PM I was able to book my 4th park day. Today I tried to reserve 3 days for a September offsite stay, I was only able to book one day and when I tried to reserve the other day I am getting the “limit of three” message. After a 55 minute wait on hold I spoke to IT and was told I had to first use all my resort stay Park bookings before I could book the additional 3 at one time Park Reservations; I requested she email me this rule as I have not seen this anywhere – she couldn’t, asked her to describe where this rule is published for customers to read…. she couldn’t. On June 20th I “chatted” with wdw and was told my resort stay and my 3 day limit were two separate items and I should have no problem doing both. I requested to speak to a supervisor today and was told I would be on hold for 2 to 3 hours and no I could not request a call back for Guest Services. This is so frustrating and way more confusing then it needs to be.
We booked reservations for resort stays in September and November on Monday, and then went in today to book non-resort reservations AP reservations for July and hit the park pass limit. We called up disney – it took about 3 hours to get through but they were able to add the July non-resort park pass reservations without cancelling our resort reservation park passes. So that might be worth a try for folks who are running into that issue (if you’re able to get through on the phone)!
Update: Disney just told me through their chat service that if I already have park reservations associated with a resort stay, I CANNOT now book a non-resort park reservation.
I just made reservations before 7am EST this morning for dates in September. We are staying off property so could only snag 3 reservations for now. This seems so unfair especially considering the huge price hike in the AP this year! I told my husband, if we can’t fill the rest of our vacation week with Disney Parks, we will just go to Universal. I doubt this is desirable for Disney. Also, since we have water parks as part of our pass, how will that be compensated since they are not open?
I have DVC reservations starting Jan 23, 2021. I failed to attach tickets to the reservations beofre they stopped selling. Will I be able to buy tickets on the 28th? Two in our party are AP holders. Tickets expire 1-1 ( with the extension).
Melissa, we think you should be able to buy for 2021 starting on Sunday. But I think I would check throughout the weekend, too, in case they drop early.
Thanks, Kelly. That’s what we were told a short while ago, too.
Thanks for sharing, Kerri.
Brandi, Disney has not differentiated between AP tiers in their published information.
Alice, if your mom still needs to purchase a ticket, hopefully that will be possible soon. Disney says “later this summer” for 2020 new ticket sales.
Jerry, I think you should be able to do it already. If they system keeps preventing you from grabbing those last two days, you may need to call Disney.
Thanks for sharing, Kelly!
First, thank you so much DFB for preparing us for this, giving us all of the information available in an easy-to-understand way. It has been so helpful!
I am very frustrated at Disney, though. All of the information they have given us has been last-minute, not thorough and sporadic. While I understand they are also going through a lot in the decision-making area navigating COVID, they have many loyal consumers who want and need answers. We have planned life moments around Disney’s decisions (during and prior to the pandemic) and I believe it’s their obligation to us to assist us and create a great experience in every possible way.
With me and many many others, being DVC members and AP holders, Disney knows that we will be coming back multiple times throughout a single year. Even more, once on property, we will be spending more money on food, merchandise, etc.
Because of the above, I truly don’t understand the AP holder three-day park reservation limit whatsoever.
Having a vacation planned for October, which is our honeymoon, we aren’t able to make any more park pass reservations for the days prior to our DVC stay. We also are planning a trip for January and February, then have another DVC reservation for April.
For our October trip, which we have 5 park days reserved, we would have to go down to only one park reservation within our resort stay to be able to utilize the three AP days, which is neither at a Disney resort nor a Good Neighbor resort. This would possibly then prevent us from being able to enjoy the parks on the remaining days of our trip, depending on how many people have booked by then. Same thing for our April trip.
As AP holders, why do we have to be on property to be awarded days of use out of the AP? The AP is precisely there to offer flexibility. It comes at an expensive price, which shows the loyalty of the people who purchase it in returning to Disney and supporting the company.
I agree with Jackie’s comment above, saying “I don’t understand the limitations of being an AP holder without a resort stay. How frequently can they make 3 days of reservations? Because as I see it, WDW would really need to extend an AP for years. A hold AP for DVC / FL has approximately 330 of possible use. So they’ve been closed for 4 months & now we can only make 3 additional days of reservations? AND no park hopping?”
Although before the pandemic, if a park was full being an AP would not help you get into the full park. BUT, this new system completely takes away the opportunity from AP holders to even try to get into the parks on those highly demanded days, if they want to enjoy a few less-crowded days prior to the more requested ones.
Looking at this through Disney’s lens, I definitely don’t think AP holders should be able to book however many they would like at once, because that would prevent other guests with and without resort stays to access the parks. I do believe that the number of days should be much more than three and even include something similar to “you can book X amount of days per month” or “you can book park reservations 180 days prior to when you plan on going.”
I appreciate DFB’s efforts in receiving and reporting opinions and decisions, both from Disney and from consumers, and that’s why I wanted to share my reasoning behind my frustration.
Maya, I appreciate you writing. I think a lot of folks share your perspectives, either in part or in whole. I continue to hope for more clarity and a response to the issues APs are experiencing, and we will keep updating. In the meantime, I wish I had more help to offer!
Kerri I think you got very lucky and wish I got to speak to the Cast Member you got! I spoke to IT and Guest Services and both told me I could not book the “three” because I had already booked Park Reservations during my resort stay. Seems like Cast Members are still giving out conflicting information. When I was speaking to CM I asked that if in September I look at the Reservation System for that day, and there are opening at the parks that I still would not be able to book a spot because I already had reached my limit of 3 with my resort stay and he said correct. So even if the park is available that day AP holders will still not be able to go…. its nuts
August 11, 2020
As an AP holder planning a WDW in November with my husband, I’m typically excited at the notion of visiting WDW again. Although I am an AP, my husband is not. We have purchased a 7 day ticket for him and we are not staying on grounds as we are renting a timeshare elsewhere. I was able to get park reservations for all 7 days of my husbands ticket, however, because of the 3 day AP restrictions, I cannot make reservations the 4 remaining days with my husband. I called the AP number and this was our conversation:
1) CM: You can make more park ressies if you were to stay on grounds ~ Me: We are not staying on grounds.
2) CM: You can make more park ressies once the first 3 days are used, much like FP rules~ Me: What if there are no AP ressies available in the same park my husband has reserved?
3) CM: Husband can change his park ressie to accommodate the AP ressie ~ Me: Looking at the current calendar, if I wanted to make an AP park ressie for the next 3 days, there is no AP availability and therefore, I would not be able to go to a park with my husband.
4) CM: You can purchase park tickets for the days your AP doesn’t have park ressies available ~ Me: What?!? I’ve already paid for my ticket. I have an AP.
5) CM: You can get a refund for the remainder of your AP ~ Me: Can you tell me the value of that refund? Maybe I will get a refund to purchase a 4 day ticket so I can enter parks with my husband.
6) CM: There is a formula used and each AP ticket is unique. You will be refunded at the end of Sept. ~ Me: September? Can you tell me the value so I know what to expect?
This is when I realized that the Cast Members are being inundated with calls from disgruntled guests. They are following the script more carefully than usual. I heard several times that these are unprecedented times. I finally responded by saying, yes they are, which is why I don’t understand why Disney is imposing so many restrictions on APs? Why is Disney taking a stand on not allowing APs to enter parks with their ticket holding companions listed in MDE? If the park is open to guests, why isn’t it open to APs? As an AP, I have made a commitment to Disney that I am making an investment in their company. I find it disappointing that Disney isn’t making the same commitment to APs.
I hope others have had a more positive experience with Disney during these unprecedented times.
Thanks for sharing, Ruth. Unfortunately, it sounds like your conversation is more similar than dissimilar to others that have shared their experiences.
Does anybody know when we can upgrade to Platinum Passes. I purchased ANnual Passes (Gold) and never was able to come down this summer due to Florida being an epicenter for Covid. I have been passes back and forth and still not getting an answer. We made reservations for December 29th week but can not use the Gold Pass. I was told we could buy tickets for that date. I already paid $3000. for my family of four and have never used them. Now, I am being told I can pay another 2400 for tickets for the week. I am very disappointed in Disney’s customer service right now because they are not answering my question. Meanwhile I have $3000. just on hold for a time that I can not use them.